Crop irrigation is a vital aspect of agriculture. A furrow or ditch allows water to flow across the surface of a field and supply water to nearby seeds and plants. Furrow irrigation is advantageous for use with certain crops, such as row crops like corn (maize). A challenge in creating furrows in a crop field is producing adequate trenches consistently and quickly.
A notable device used in creating irrigation furrows is a field creaser (also referred to as a Mormon Creaser). Although a field creaser is simple to use, there are a number of disadvantages with its design. A field creaser typically has a plurality of plows secured on a flat horizontal body, which is pulled by a tractor. The flat horizontal body is typically sled-like, having a slope at its front end.
Despite this slope, when in use, a field creaser collects soil towards its front end, which drags the soil towards the end of the field. Another device, such as a tractor, is necessary to clear the excess soil collected towards the edge of a crop field. In cases where seeds have already been broadcasted on the field, these seeds are also dragged towards the edge of the crop field.
Additionally, a field creaser may create imperfect furrows. The characteristic of the soil, and uneven terrain may affect how a field creaser creates a furrow. A field creaser has plows attached to a rigid horizontal body, so it may create shallow or uneven furrows when used on uneven terrain. Furthermore, a field creaser may require pulling at slower speeds in order to effectively create furrows, which leads to wasted time. In some cases, additional manual work is required to “clean up” these imperfect furrows.
There is a need for an implement that creates furrows for irrigation in a consistent manner. There is a need for an implement to be deployed quickly while creating regularly sized furrows, and without requiring additional work. There is a need for an implement to create furrows without dragging soil and possibly seeds across the field.